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María Bielsa is 57 years old and watches many series, but nothing traditional television.
She pays for Movistar, Netflix, Prime Video and Filmin, and she subscribes to others based on what they release.
"To see
The golden age
I signed up for HBO Max, paid for a month and unsubscribed at the same time so that the fee would not be charged automatically.
With
The Bear
[on Disney+] I did the same thing.
And with
La ruta
[in Atresplayer], the same.”
Ainhoa Gorriz, 24, has unsubscribed (and signed up) several times from Netflix to save and “seek new stimuli” in other places, such as Prime Video or the platform of the public library in her city.
“In the end I ended up going back to the first one because she is the one with the best offer.”
They are two examples of an increasingly common practice at a time when the explosion of video on demand services forces the user to be very selective.
The data makes it clear: after an initial boost process that lasted several years and accelerated during the pandemic, growth has slowed.
The multiplication of supply and the increase in prices have influenced subscriptions in the United States to grow by 10% in 2023 compared to 21.6% in 2022, according to a report published in February by the consulting firm Antenna.
That same study includes another notable phenomenon: the growth of what they call “resubscriptions”, that is, people who cancel a
streaming
service and contract it again a few months later.
More information
The platforms raise their prices.
How much?
Because?
There are currently more customers giving up their payment platform subscriptions, but many are returning.
10% of those who unsubscribe pay again for the same platform the following month, 23% do so in less than three months, 37% take less than nine months and 41% do so within a year. .
The same report shows that 23% of users who have contracted and canceled payment platform subscriptions have done so at least three times in the last two years.
That percentage was 17% in 2022 and only 3% in 2019, when the amount of supply and the number of users was much lower than today.
42% of them have canceled a subscription more than five times in the last two years, and 19% have done so more than seven times.
Apple TV+ was the one that had the most resubscriptions, 37.2%, while the Netflix percentage fell from 35.2% in 2022 to 26% in 2023 because many of the new customers previously shared an account (they were users, but they were not registered as subscribers).
A remote control with buttons for different digital platforms.NurPhoto (Getty Images)
For Xavier Molina, 55, it is common practice.
He shares Filmin, pays the annual fee for HBO Max and alternates between Netflix, Apple TV + and Disney + depending on what he wants to watch.
“When I unsubscribe, I write down the series that may interest me and that way the next time I unsubscribe I don't let myself be overwhelmed by the news.
Now I have Disney and when
Shōgun
ends I will leave, and I will return to Netflix when
Ripley
arrives ,” says this resident between Barcelona and Milan.
Carlos Sierra, 42, has an annual subscription to Prime Video and HBO Max and, depending on the releases, he adds others such as Netflix, Disney+, Filmin and will soon try SkyShowtime.
That month he takes the opportunity to catch up before unsubscribing again.
“This way I don't waste money unnecessarily.
Not only because of the prices, but also because it is impossible for me to take advantage of them if I am subscribed to all of them at the same time.
I usually make lists of what interests me so I can go straight to it when I activate the monthly subscription,” he says.
Netflix is the platform he returns to most frequently.
In the United States data, Netflix is the
streaming
service with the lowest cancellation ratio compared to its subscriptions, and remains below 2%, while the average cancellation rate in 2023 was 5.5%, 0. 8 points more than in 2022.
Fall in Spain
In Spain, cancellations were imposed on subscriptions on platforms.
According to data from the TV-OTT Barometer from the consulting firm Barlovento Comunicación, in 2023 there were a total of 18,684,000 registrations on platforms, compared to 21,181,000 cancellations, which gives a negative balance of 2,497,000.
In this case, Netflix was the platform most affected by the cancellations.
Among the services that ended with a positive balance between lows and highs last year are Prime Video and Disney+ (in addition to SkyShowtime, which was launched in 2023).
Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne and Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko, in 'Shōgun'.Katie Yu/FX
According to this same barometer, in 2023, the average number of platforms to which each Spaniard over 18 years of age with internet access was subscribed was 2.9.
Well above average is Laura Fayos, 67 years old: she permanently pays for HBO Max, Prime Video, Netflix and SkyShowtime.
She shares Movistar Plus +, Disney +, Apple TV + and Filmin joins intermittently.
“I subscribe to almost all of them, and if there is one that doesn't have anything for me, I leave it until they have something that interests me,” she says.
The main reason that Spaniards cited for unsubscribing from a platform is the increase in the price of the subscription, followed by having stopped using that service with the same frequency.
The last Barlovento Comunicación barometer that included this question, from December 2023, highlighted that, for 41.2% of Netflix cancellations, the main reason for canceling was restrictions on the use of shared accounts.
Among the reasons for registering on a platform, the search for a specific title or the absence of interesting offers on free television stand out.
The data shows that it is increasingly difficult for a platform to achieve the loyalty of its subscribers.
Compared to a previous stage of
streaming
in which these services sought to add customers, now that they are established, they need to refocus their objectives and learn to manage these fluctuating subscribers.
“Retention doesn't just mean keeping first-time subscribers.
It is also managing a relationship throughout the customer's real life,” said Jonathan Carson, CEO of Antenna, in a report in
The Wall Street Journal
on this matter.
To do this, the platforms try with offers, cheaper versions with advertising or packages that group several platforms with discounts.
All to keep the most unfaithful clients.
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